WASHINGTON — The House voted overwhelming on Friday to approve $15.3 billion in federal aid for Hurricane Harvey-affected states, over the objections of four Texas Republicans opposed to the funds being tucked into a larger, more controversial spending measure.

The Texans who voted no were Arlington Rep. Joe Barton, Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Plano Rep. Sam Johnson and Clarendon Rep. Mac Thornberry. Their concerns included worries over increasing the nation's borrowing limit and the effects of a stopgap spending bill on the military.

And their opposition came despite intense pressure from their Texas colleagues, President Donald Trump and other administration officials, and a broad bipartisan coalition that pushed the bill to an easy passage with a 316-90 vote.

"I always do what I think is right," Barton said, decrying that the legislation allows the national debt to increase. "I thought that was the right vote."

We have yet again missed an opportunity for substantial reforms and reduced spending. Read my full statement here. https://t.co/D5HdhCbctw

The bill was signed on Friday by Trump, who took quick action to prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency from running out of money as yet another hurricane approaches the U.S.

The legislation features $7.4 billion for FEMA to provide direct assistance, $450 million for the Small Business Association to help businesses rebound and $7.4 billion in Housing and Urban Development community development block grants.

The funds can be used for Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and other other disasters that may arrive this year.

"Texans will need substantial, sustained funding from the federal government in the months and years ahead to recover from Harvey's destruction," said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. "I'm glad that Congress swiftly acted to provide this initial aid."

More relief likely

The bill, which had unanimous Democratic support, is the first of what's expected to be multiple hurricane relief payments. It could stand out, however, for the divisions it's caused in the GOP.

Every member of Texas’ House delegation voted earlier this week for a standalone measure that would have directed $8 billion toward storm-ravaged Texas and Louisiana. But then Trump struck a surprise deal with Democratic leaders to expand the scope of the Harvey package.

The agreement wrapped the Harvey aid into a stopgap spending bill that raises the debt ceiling through December, with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders saying on Friday that Trump didn't want to "play partisan politics." But the move confounded the GOP on multiple fronts.

Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Pilot Point, followed Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, to a meeting Wednesday with fellow House Republicans at the Capitol in Washington.

(J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press)

Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he supports Harvey aid, but said that "continuing resolutions do enormous, lasting damage to the American military." He pointed to issues like an increase in military accidents and problems with technology.

"Not only does this bill fail to remedy those problems, it makes them worse," he said in a news release.

He later reiterated his opposition to such stop-gap spending measures, telling reporters that the military has roughly "lost about as many service members this year in non-combat accidents" as the at least 70 people who have died so far because of Hurricane Harvey.

Thornberry on his no vote: “Roughly, we have lost about as many service members this year in non-combat accidents as people died in Harvey"

Barton had said this week that the deal amounted to asking lawmakers to essentially "sign a blank check" to add to the nation's nearly $20 trillion debt. He said on Friday that he had an "obligation to all the taxpayers and future generations" to prevent that debt from accelerating.

"Trust me, this isn't the only time we're going to be voting for hurricane relief," he added. "So there will be other opportunities."

Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he could not vote for "even more national debt without the opportunity to offset it with lower priority spending."

The deficit hawk had made no secret of his desire to find offsets for the emergency funding, as well as his disappointment that the spending bill merely continues — instead of overhauling — the beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program that falls under his committee's purview.

"This is unacceptable and threatens the emergency funding of those who actually need it," he said in a news release.

Johnson's spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment about his no vote.

Opposition criticized

Those explanations did little to allay critics. Cole Leiter, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, described the Texas Republicans' vote against the Harvey bill as reckless, cruel and irresponsible.

"If you want to understand why Americans are disgusted by Republicans in Congress, look no further than this vote," he said.

But the Texas opposition was nothing compared to what happened four years ago in Hurricane Sandy's aftermath. Then, every member of the Texas GOP delegation, save for Houston Rep. John Culberson and San Antonio Rep. Will Hurd, voted against an aid package for that storm.

The decision has haunted Texas Republicans in recent weeks, even as many of the lawmakers defended that vote by saying the Sandy package had extraneous special projects. A Congressional Research Service report, however, shows that nearly all of the aid went to Sandy efforts.

This time around, Texans were uniformly in support of Harvey aid, though many wanted the federal assistance to be passed a standalone measure. And there was unmistakable pressure from the White House on down to accept the deal approved on Friday.

Both Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz voted for the bill earlier in the week, despite objections by Cruz over the way it was bundled with the debt ceiling. Vice President Mike Pence hosted the Texas delegation on Thursday night at his residence at the Naval Observatory.

And several Texans — including Rep. Randy Weber, a conservative Freedom Caucus member whose district includes coastal areas hit by Harvey — urged their colleagues to get on board.

"Please vote for this bill," he said on the House floor an hour or so before the vote. "It is time for us to step up. It’s time for us to set politics aside."

Corpus Christi Rep. Blake Farenthold, a Republican whose district was also battered by the storm, made a similar appeal.

"We’re here today to tell those folks in Florida, those folks in Texas and those who face disasters all over this country that this Congress has your back,” he said, later adding: “Unfortunately, this has turned a little political, and it doesn’t need to be."

Gov. Greg Abbott, who called the Texas delegation during a luncheon on Thursday to urge an affirmative vote, praised the congressional action. He said the "down payment" would "go a long way in helping victims of the storm rebuild their lives and their communities."

"Although the recovery process is just beginning, Texans can rest assured that our federal partners are with them in their time of need," he said in a news release.